“Many of the Cupertino, California-based company’s tactics read like something from a spy novel: information is assiduously guarded and handed out only on a need-to-know basis; employees suspected of leaks may be investigated by the contractor; and the company makes it clear that it will not hesitate to sue if secrets are spilled,” So-eui, Madway, Pomfret, and Durfee report.
MacDailyNews Note: Asteroid.
So-eui, Madway, Pomfret, and Durfee continue, “On occasion, Apple will give contract manufacturers different products, just to try them out. That way, the source of any leaks becomes immediately obvious, people familiar with the supply chain said. And unlike other electronics makers, some of whom prefer the convenience of one-stop shopping, Apple doesn’t rely on a single firm to supply everything for a product. The industry sources say the company will often minutely divvy up projects. ‘This ensures that the only people who have all the secrets to any Apple product is Apple itself,’ said a senior official at a subsidiary of Hon Hai Precision Industry. ‘Other tech companies will also look for their own sources of components to compare, but none of them do as many things in-house as Apple does.'”
So-eui, Madway, Pomfret, and Durfee report, “The upshot is that even the people who man the assembly lines have no idea what the finished product will look like.”
Read all about how “Apple’s obsession with secrecy is the stuff of legend” in not only Silicon Valley, but around the world here.